Saving Draco
by Sharpened Knife
Summary: Draco Malfoy is abused by his father and he uses self harm as his escape. Can someone save him from not only his father, but himself aswell? Contains self injury and abuse. DISCONTINUED FOR NOW.
1. Chapter 1

Draco Malfoy sat in a corner of the Astronomy tower with his legs hugged tightly to his chest, chin resting upon his knees. He contemplated the day's events.

His father had come up to the school to visit. He had dragged him to the large broom cupboard in the dungeons and cast silencing charms, as he always did.

"Please, don't" Draco remembered begging as his father removed his belt.

Lucius had laughed at his son.

"Sunken as low as to beg now have we Draco?" He had asked before requesting Draco to remove his shirt.

"Father." Draco had pleaded.

"NOW!" Lucius screamed, rage obvious in his eyes.

Trembling, Draco removed his shirt. No sooner had he dropped it to the ground the belt had struck him. He had not been expecting the first whip so soon and had screamed out in pain. His father laughed with satisfaction, whipping Draco with the belt a second time, then a third.

Draco did not recall how many times his father had whipped him, but he did remember when the belt finally stopped striking him. Draco could feel the welts on his back that the belt had left. He remembered his father's words as he left the cupboard, leaving Draco on the ground.

"You will _never_ be good enough to be my son."

These words hit Draco like a slap round the face. He knew his father never considered him as a son, more of an inconvenience, but to hear the words said aloud had hurt.

Draco was now aware of tears running down his cheeks. He swore inwardly to himself for being so weak. He wiped his cheeks dry and reached down beside him, retrieving a kitchen knife. He held it in his hands for a while, staring at it.

"_Just do it" _He thought.

Draco rolled up the left sleeve of his robe and searched his arm for an area of skin not already covered in scars and cuts. He found some at the base of his wrist and placed the knife there. Pressing down just hard enough to slice the skin he drew the knife along his wrist to form one, long, cut. Dots of blood formed along the thin line, quickly merging into one. The blood began running down Draco's outstretched arm. He stared at it in awe for a minute before he got out his wand and stopped it. He didn't heal the cut, merely stopped the flow of blood. He always let the cuts heal the muggle way so that they would scar. He needed the scars to remind him that, no matter how good his grades were or how well he behaved, he would never be good enough.

He stared at his scar covered arm and became overwhelmed with different knowing what to do, Draco stood up quickly grabbing his hair and pulling it. His breathing was sharp and ragged. Draco's knees buckled from below him and he fell to the flaw in a heap, crying. He brought his hand to his mouth and bit down hard. He pulled his knees back to his chest in the foetal position and closed his eyes.

Hours or minutes later, Draco could not be sure, he heard footsteps climbing the stairs of the tower. Draco stood up quickly and rolled his sleeve down. The door opened.

His head of year stood in the doorway. They stared into each others eyes for a moment before Severus walked towards him.

"I was called to a disturbance up here," Snape said, glaring at Draco, "if you are that disturbance then so help me I will…"

He stopped speaking. Draco looked at the Professor, who was staring at Draco's left arm. Dreading what he was about to see, Draco looked down. The bottom of the sleeve on his robe was covered in dried blood which he had forgotten to clean. Draco felt what little colour in his face leave. Severus took a step towards the boy.

"Please don't hurt me!" Draco whimpered, bracing himself.

Severus paused for a second in shock.

"I'm not going to hurt you Draco." He said before reaching out and taking the boys arm.

Draco didn't struggle, he didn't have the energy. The professor pushed up the sleeve tentatively and looked at the trails of old scars and the overlapping trails of the new ones. He rolled Draco's sleeve back down and stared at the boy, so fragile and vulnerable. Sighing deeply, Severus let the boys arm drop to his side.

"Come with me Draco." He told the boy.

**A/N: This is my first fanfiction on here, sorry if it kinda sucks. Please review :)**


	2. Intervention

Sorry for this taking so long! The writers block for this fic was UNBELIEVABLE! I'm still not totaly happy with this but it's going to have to do for now, Enjoy :D.

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Severus led Draco through the castle and into his personal quarters. He sat behind his desk and signalled for Draco to take the seat opposite. He stared at the boy. Draco was staring at his feet, trembling.

"Draco." He said softly.

The boy looked up at him, his eyes were fearful.

"Draco," Severus repeated, not really sure what to say.

Draco looked back down at the floor and tucked his legs up to his chest.

"Draco, I need to see your arms."

Draco's head snapped up.

"No." he said.

"This isn't a matter I'm willing to discuss. Show me your arms." Severus demanded.

Draco shrank back into his seat and Severus mentally slapped himself. The boy didn't need authority right now, he needed help and someone to talk to.

"I need to make sure they aren't infected."

He reached out and gently took hold of Draco's thin wrist and rolled up the sleeve.

It took Snape all he had not to gasp aloud; Draco's arm was worse than he had expected.

Severus retrieved his wand and summoned some clean water and a cloth. As carefully as he could Severus wiped Draco's arm clean. Once he was done he studied Draco's arm carefully. There were old scars, maybe a year or two old, but there were also new cuts layered on top of them. Snape rolled Draco's sleeve back down and sat behind his desk again.

"Can you tell me why you do this?" Severus asked.

Draco sat up, instantly on edge.

"There is nothing to tell Professor. Thank you for helping me, Good night." He got up to leave.

"Draco, Sit down." Snape said.

"I'd rather not Sir, I'm tired, I should go to bed."

"No Draco. If you won't talk to me, then I will have to go to the Headmaster about this." Snape said, letting the threat sink in.

Slowly Draco walked back over to the chair and sat down. He looked Severus in the eye. The fear had been replaced by a cold, hard stare.

"Honestly Professor, it doesn't need to go that far."

"Then talk to me Draco." Snape said, not perturbed by the coldness of the voice.

"You wouldn't understand." Draco said, folding his arms.

"Try me." Severus said, staring back into the boys eyes.

"There's no point! You wouldn't understand, no one would. You have NO idea what drives someone to do this, to resort to this, and you NEVER will!"

Severus sighed deeply. Without braking eye contact with the boy Severus lifted his left arm on top of the table. Draco's face was one of confusion as Snape began to roll his sleeve up. His dark mark sat in the centre of his lower arm, but that's not what Severus was showing Draco. He was showing him the area around the mark. It was covered in thick, white, scars. They were all in lines and around an inch long. Severus watched Draco's face as the reality of what he was seeing hit him.

"Now," Severus said, rolling his sleeve down again, "Try me."

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**Please R&R!**


	3. Snape's storymemories

**A/N**

**Sorry this has taken so long, it's a mix of writers block and a load of Shit going on in my life right now, but chapter three is up :) Enjoy :)**

**Anon, i don't see it as OOCness, i just see it as a back story! I hope this helps explain it somemore!**

**JustAGirl019 I hope this is kind of what you wanted :)**

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**Draco**

"I…" Draco stammered, still reeling from what he'd just seen. There were many things Draco could imagine doing, self harm wasn't one of them. It wasn't in Snape's Character. Draco looked at Severus, "Sir, I'll tell you, if you tell me why you did."

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**Severus**

Severus closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course Draco would find a way to delay having to try and explain anything; it was what he had done so many years ago…

_Flashback_

"_Sev, please, talk to me." Lilly Evans said, looking up at him pleadingly._

"_It's a nice day today." Severus replied, hoping with all his might that Lilly would understand to drop the subject._

"_We have to talk about this!" Lilly said, desperation evident in her voice._

"_I really like days like these, the sun is warm." Severus whispered, closing his eyes, still begging for Lilly to stop talking._

_Lilly sat up and took his hands, "Tell me what's wrong Sev, please. And don't even think about lying to me, I know you to well."_

"_No you don't! You know NOTHING about me! Just fuck off!" He had yelled._

_Lilly looked at him sadly, "Ok." She got up and left him sitting there, by himself._

_Flashback ends._

He clenched his fists tightly at the memory. Unlike Lilly, he wasn't going to drop the subject. Even though all those years ago he had convinced himself he didn't want to talk to anyone, he knew now that he really did, he had just been scared.

Severus looked at Draco.

"Ok Draco, I will tell you, but you have to understand that once I have, you can not tell anyone, especially not your father. Also, understand that this is not a get out of jail free card, you are going to talk to me when I'm done."

Draco looked at him and nodded.

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Sev took a deep breath, "When I was younger, I lived with my parents, we were your average family, had everything going for us. Then one day, when I was nine, my mother was killed in a freak accident. It hit my father and I hard, but him more so than I. After the funeral he began to drink. My father had always been a violent drunk, even before my mother's death, but he was worse now. He would hit me, whip me and sometimes… sometimes he would…rape me." Severus stammered on the last sentence. He had never admitted that to anyone.

"One day, he beat me so hard and made me do so much that I was certain I was going to die that night. However, I woke up the next day and I realized something, I was angry that I wasn't dead. I'm not sure what made me pick up the blade, but I did." Severus finished.

He looked over at the boy who was staring at him, mouth wide open.

"You're catching flies Draco." Severus stated.

Draco shut his mouth but continued to stare at him.

"You've heard my story," Severus told the boy, "now I need to hear yours."

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**Sorry it's short! Please R&R! XxX**


	4. Draco's turn

Draco took a deep breath to steady himself.

"It all started when I was six..."

_Flashback_

"_Draco! For Gods sake! Why can't you perform even a simple spell?"_

"_Sorry daddy, I am trying but it's hard!" Draco whined at his father._

"_It's not hard! When I was your age I had already mastered these spells and more!"_

"_Maybe," a voice said from behind Draco, he turned to see his aunt Bellatrix behind him, "you should beat the spells into him. Our fathers did it to us and look how well we turned out."_

_Draco looked to his father with pleading eyes, "No daddy, please don't! I will do better!"_

"_Stop whining you brat." Bellatrix said, smacking Draco around the back of the head as she went to stand at Lucius's side. "Do it Lucius, be a man for once in your life."_

"_Don't insult my masculinity Bellatrix, this is my house." Draco's father walked towards him whilst removing his belt._

"_Take of your shirt Draco."_

"_Daddy?" the young Draco questioned, his voice breaking with fear._

"_Do as I say!"_

_Draco removed his shirt with trembling hands and dropped it to the ground._

"_Please." He whimpered._

"_Turn around Draco." His father said, his eyes were cold and his voice was free of emotion._

_Draco turned, his eyes squeezed shut and his whole body trembling in fear._

_*CRACK*_

_He heard the noise before he felt the pain, but when the pain set in Draco fell to the floor screaming in agony._

"_Every time he does something wrong, beat him, he'll soon learn." The door slammed as Bellatrix left. Draco rolled over and looked at his father, hoping it had all been an act to save his masculinity in front of Bellatrix but his fathers eyes were just as cold but there was also something else there…enjoyment._

_End Flashback_

Draco sat in the chair opposite Severus's desk curled into a ball and shaking.

"Like Bellatrix said, every time I do something wrong I get beaten." Draco whispered into his knees. The tears began falling down his face and he could no longer breath.

"Draco" Severus said quietly from the otherside of the desk.

Draco shook his head violently and a loud sob ripped from his chest.

"Shhh" Severus whispered, now directly next to the boy. Draco felt a hand on his back trying to slowly soothe him but it was doing the exact opposite. He could feel the fresher wounds on his back burning and it this in turn was bringing up too many unwanted memories.

"I can't do this!" Draco screamed. He stood up quickly and sprinted across the room and out of the door.

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**Sorry it's short, but i felt i needed something for this story as i have been neglecting all of my fanfictions. I'm sorry it has been so long, been having a bad time recently, but I hope you enjoy this.**


	5. Snapes Reaction

Severus clenched his fists tightly as Draco struggled to tell his story. Severus felt anger towards Lucius like never before. As for Bellatrix, if she wasn't already in Azkaban he would have found many more, even worse punishments for her.

"Draco." Severus whispered cautiously, moving to stand behind the boys quivering frame.

"Shhh." He whispered, placing a tentative hand on Draco's back. He slowly rubbed his back in an attempt of comfort.

_What the?_

Severus could feel raised wounds on the boy's back. He lifted his hand slowly of the boys back and stared at his bloody palm. Severus closed his eyes and took a deep breath to dampen down his rage and took a deep breath. He squeezed Draco's shoulder to try and reassure him.

"I can't do this!" He heard Draco scream as his voice cracked with emotion.

Severus opened his eyes just in time to see Draco run from the room.

Severus went to follow the boy but stopped himself. Draco needed time to calm down and attempt to collect his thoughts; after all, his biggest secrets had all been revealed in under half an hour.

Severus once again felt the anger inside him boil to the surface. His hands began to shake as he became overrun with emotion. He spun round and punched the black stone wall with all his might.

_Crack_

The sound alerted Severus to a large, fist shaped hole in the wall. In turn, this lead him to realise how much pain was now coursing from his clenched fist up his arm and to the blood dripping down his knuckles. With a grunt of pain Severus brought his hand up to his chest and cradled it there whilst retrieving his wand from his robes. He tapped his hand with a wince and muttered a spell. His hand burned then all sensations of pain left, all the cuts closed and the blood faded into nothingness. He then calmly turned to the wall and fixed it too.

These spells were ones which Severus had become increasingly expert at over the years. Thinking back there were many things that Severus had learned through his past of depression and self destructive behaviour. For example, he had learned that keeping himself isolated was the only way to not get hurt by others, lying was easier and less painful than telling the truth and that no one could be trusted.

This of course all changed when Dumbledor had discovered his incredibly well kept secret in Severus' final year at Hogwarts. The old man managed to crack the foundations of Severus' well built wall and send it crashing down. From then on Severus had found it surprisingly helpful to have someone to talk too. His self harm became less and less frequent until he managed to quit all together. There were only three people Severus had trusted with his story: Albus, an old friend or his and now Draco. It was at this point Severus realised he was going to have to carefully bring down Draco's own defensive wall whilst in turn reveal more of his life to Draco, the way Albus had done so many years ago to him.


	6. Watch as the weak run away

**Hello! I am so extremely sorry for the wait, I really wish i had updated sooner, but it has literally been impossible. I was in a psychiactric hospital through September and October and from then on i was just focusing on catching up with all my schoolwork and GCSE's and getting back on track with my life, but i'm back now. It's kind of really depressing but thats the mood i'm in and my mood affects my writing, as you can tell whenever i feel depressed i update this fic, but still, i hope you like this late Christmas pressent! **

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Draco had no idea where he was going. His brain was not thinking, his legs were just running. His chest, feet and head hurt, He had been running for at least fifteen minutes so he knew he had long ago left the castle grounds.

Draco slowed his pace and bent over, trying to catch his breath. Slowly he raised his head and observed his surroundings. It was dark, very dark. The stars and moon were hidden by a thick layer of cloud and Draco could see almost nothing. He grabbed for his wand and muttered "Lumos." The area around him lit up with a pale glow. Looking around once more Draco recognised this place as the very outskirts of Hogsmeade. He had been here once before, the first time he ran away from Hogwarts.

It had been in his first year, he had been falling behind in charms for some time and professor Flitwick had finally worked up the courage to owl his father. Draco knew his father considered charms a soft subject, one not worthy of learning, but he also knew his father would take this as an opportunity to beat him senseless. Fear had overcome the young Draco and he ran out of the castle, out of the grounds and away from the school. Just like today he had kept running till he had gotten here, this is where Dumbledore found him brought him back to school. Of course he should have known there was an alarm system in place for when unauthorised students left the grounds but it hadn't worried him as he ran. As Dumbledore led him back he had bombarded Draco with questions. Draco refused to answer them out of shame and just stalked silently with the headmaster, pretending he was being defiant. Of course, when his father found out, the beating was worse than ever before and Draco had barely been able to move for a week.

Is that what he was doing now? Running away? Yes, he was running away once again out of shame and fear. He was weak and he knew it, but he couldn't go back to Hogwarts, not now that Severus knew what was happening. How disappointed must he be with Draco for using that type of behaviour? Draco knew this was an irrational thought, especially after seeing Severus's scars, but he could not stop his thoughts. Draco also knew that going back would mean talking about what's happening and opening up to Severus. He couldn't go back, he had no where to go anymore. Why has no one come for him? Surely the alarms had rung and they knew he was no longer on Hogwarts grounds. That's when it struck him, no one was coming because no one cared. He really was truly alone in the world.

Draco threw himself to the ground in despair, tears of frustration, anger and pain ran down his face. Then it clicked in his brain, he didn't have to feel like this, for once he had the power, the power to make all the pain, hurt and suffering he was feeling go away. He wiped the away fiercely, "What's the fucking point!" He screamed loudly into the night. He reached down into his robe pocket and pulled out his knife.

"Weak." Draco whispered quietly before plunging the knife into his left thigh.

"Worthless," right thigh.

"Undeserving," deep slit across the right wrist.

"This one's for you father," left wrist.

Draco sighed "What's the point?" It was barely a whisper. He lifted the knife in front of him and pointed towards his chest and plunged the knife towards it.

"NO DRACO, STOP!"

Draco's hand faltered for a second causing the knife to turn downward and embed into his stomach. He gasped in shock and pain.

"Draco!" He felt a hand take his. He turned toward the voice.

Severus. He was crouched beside him, studying all his wounds "Draco," He whispered, shock all over his face and fear in his eyes, "what have you done?"

"I'm sorry sir, I'm sorry for being to weak to keep fighting, but I have been fighting for so long, so so long, I just can't anymore." Draco squeezed Severus's hand. He could feel his blood running down his arms and legs, drenching his clothes and then a sharp pain in his stomach. He lifted his eyes to Severus's other hand which held the knife. He quickly dropped it and applied pressure to the wound.

"Just hold on Draco, I know you can do it. You're not weak, you are strong, ever so strong, you just have to believe in yourself."

Draco smiled sadly at Severus and shook his head.

"No more fighting, I'm done now" he whispered calmly, he shut his eyes and let the darkness consume him.

"No, don't you BLOODY dare! DRACO MALFOY, OPEN YOUR EYES AND STAY AWAKE! FOR GODS SAKE, DRACO!" Draco could feel Severus shaking his almost completely limp body. Draco let out a small, almost silent groan. His mind began spinning wildly and then, nothing.

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**You're reviews could influence Draco's outcome, so please review!**


	7. AUTHOR'S APOLOGY NOTE!

Hi guys, I'm so so sorry that I haven't updated in a long time, I have had personal issues and have been back in hospital. I am still in the hospital for now, however I am currently in the process of writing the next chapter. I'll have to hand write it all then type it up, so it could be a couple of weeks, but IT WILL BE HERE! Aha, much love for all you guys still reading the story! Xxx


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